8 October, 2020
Bourbon Chicken
This is a tasty classic that I cook based on sight for the browning and smell for the duration.
Recipe:
Use 2 big chicken breasts cubed in 1 inch squares. I use a large non-stick frying pan for the entire recipe.
Brown in oil, high to medium high setting. It’s more important to brown then to cook thru as the latter part of this recipe takes a while with the chicken sitting in the mix.
Set chicken to side, it’s best if it’s a little under done so you want brown quickly and efficiently.
In the same pan add
1/2 tsp ginger
1 big garlic clove minced
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1/3 cup brown sugar
Squirt of ketchup (what you would put on a hotdog)
Splash or two of vinegar
3 shots bourbon whiskey
1/2 cup apple juice
1/4 tsp onion powder
Water to blend
Cook ingredients till blended and taken in. My test is when I smell the liquid and it turns from a vinegar and ketchup smell to the classic Bourbon chicken smell. It is noticeable when it turns.
Add chicken back and make your bourbon broth boil. Reduce to low simmer for a good 15 min or so, until the sauce is thick and smells right. You should not smell any vinegar by this time. Stir the whole time so the chicken is soaking up the flavor plus it helps with evaporation/thickening. My thickness test is I scrape the pan with a wooden spoon (which is my preferred tool for this recipe) and the liquid rushing back indicates thickness.
If your resulting pan is too watery, take the chicken out and cook the sauce at medium heat until reduced. This way you don’t over cook your chicken which is rubbery. Taste test when in doubt.
NOTE: if too sweet or taste is off you may add soy sauce to save the recipe. It is a step away from classic bourbon chicken but I had a few times that the recipe was too sweet and I had to add some bitter to balance.